Grindelwald's Traitor
by graypearl
Summary: Hermione spins a tale about the spy who brought down the Dark Wizard Grindelwald.


Grindelwald's Traitor

Summary: Hermione spins a tale about the spy who brought down the Dark Wizard Grindelwald.

Disclaimer: Nothing in the Harry Potter Universe belongs to me.

Rating: PG-13 for wartime elements

Pairing: None

Reviews: All are appreciated, including constructive criticism.

Author's note: A)This is a one shot. B)The word "Occlumentes" is not a typo, since I am assuming relation to the Latin word mens, mentis (English: mind). Thus the plural Latin form of Occlumens would be Occlumentes.

* * *

"Tell us a story, Hermione."

Hermione put down her quill and looked at Lavender with a face that clearly said, "Why on earth would you think that I would put down this very interesting article to entertain the likes of you?" Ignoring the warning signs, Lavender persisted, "Pleeeeeeease. We're bored." She twirled one of the locks of her hair as she stared upwards at the ceiling from her bed.

"If you're bored, then perhaps you should at least attempt the Transfigurations essay that Professor McGonagall assigned." Hermione pulled her leg out from under herself, wiggling her toes to send blood rushing back into her numb foot. "And what makes you think that I know any stories?"

"Well, you _read_." Lavender uttered the last word as if she were describing skinning a Shrivelfig.

"I don't read the sort of things you're interested in," Hermione said as she flipped a page.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nonfiction, Lavender. I read nonfiction. No dashing romances or beautiful princesses in these books," she replied, tapping the tome that rested on her lap.

"I can appreciate nonfiction just as well as the next person."

Parvati sniffed from her own bed, "Which would mean not at all."

"I thought you were on my side, Parvati!"

"Since what we will likely be getting from her is the History of the House-Elf Oppression, I'm really not interested."

At this, Hermione's upper lip stiffened just a little. She put down her quill, closed her book, and glared. "Don't think I'm not aware as to what you're doing, Parvati. Salazar Slytherin himself would be proud." She looked at the hands of her watch. "I suppose I could spare about thirty minutes. Now what do you want the story to be about?"

"Excitement! Adventure! Boys!" the two girls exclaimed.

"Of course. Let me think." Hermione closed her eyes and leaned back on her bed. After a few seconds, her eyes flew open and she sat up. "Okay, I think I have an idea."

"Really? So soon?" Parvati stood up. "Wait 'til I tell everyone else." She sped out of the room before Hermione could stop her.

"I didn't want an audience! Honestly, some people have no respect..." She trailed off as the dormitory room door opened again, and Ginny, Katie, Angelina, and several younger girls filed in. "Were you all waiting outside the door?" she asked, incredulous. All shifted on their feet, as Parvati entered and shut the door behind herself.

"Sit down, sit down!" Parvati ordered them, and they arranged themselves at various points throughout the room. "Now, where were we?"

"We were just finding out that this was an pre-planned set-up that somehow was arranged under my nose in order to use me as some sort of entertainment," Hermione responded, pointedly.

"No, no, you were just about to begin the story." Parvati had, over the years, developed immunity to Hermione's reproving glances. This was currently turning out to be fortunate for her.

"Fine. Fine. I'll do it." Hermione paused, and continued. "Once there was a spy in Grindelwald's order. He managed to bring about the end of it all, and his name was--"

"Wait!" shouted Ginny.

"What?"

"You're just telling us anything that could be heard from Professor Binns, if we weren't all asleep. Make it a story, a real one." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Very well. I was just about to, anyway," Hermione sniffed. "Next time, don't interrupt."

"Well, I won't as long as you do it right."

"Do you want to tell the story?" Silence answered her. Hermione composed herself once again, and began.

"In the height of Grindelwald's Dark Reign, there were twelve men that he most trusted. It was this group responsible for carrying out the Famous Broomstick Raids of 1943, which terrorized all of Britain. Not a single Lumos charm could be used at night for fear of the Killing Curse being sent into a window. The Ministry was powerless before the skill of these aerial acrobats, and Grindelwald's men did not do so badly on the ground either. It was commonly believed that his spies were everywhere, watching, waiting, and gathering the information that would be sent through a vast network whose greatest strength was that each man was a separate unit. No one except the twelve knew of the others in their group, so none, if caught, could cause the entire network to collapse. But Grindelwald did not count on one thing: the other side knew how to spy, too.

It was slowly that he became aware of a Niffler in his ranks. A botched raid here, a bit of misinformation there. Two of his men were deployed to watch the Ministry entrance, while none were sent to Diagon Alley. His allies at Gringotts slowly were becoming disgruntled, while the vampires were getting restless. He had to face facts eventually-- and come up with a plan to stop his master design from crashing down about his feet. He gathered his men together by using the appropriate code words, and they met in France that very weekend. The restaurant that they gathered in was very discreet, and they wined and dined in style, after warding the room and searching for listening devices, of course.

Grindelwald had watched all of his men very carefully that evening, yet he could not detect which one had betrayed him. So, he began to put in his scheme into play. Going up to each of them, he whispered into each ear an assignment which they were to carry out immediately and alone. His house-elf, who had been guarding the door of their private room, now trailed along behind him. It was fingering its collar nervously, even as Grindelwald tugged at the leash attached. He could spare the additional security at the door if it would ensure that no one overheard each man's instructions, so he was using the creature to discourage any eavesdropping. It was well known among Grindelwald's associates that his elf could and would maim at will if the activity fit within its orders. Luckily for all of Grindelwald's men, no eavesdropping was detected, and all went away with the intentions of carrying out their own orders.

A week later, Grindelwald picked up the latest briefing from one of the twelve to find that the situation had become infinitely more complicated. He had expected one, and only one, of the assignments to fail for some reason. Indeed, many of them had been designed to be intentionally gruesome, so that no self respecting double-agent would allow it to be carried out. However, two of his men had failed in their duties, and both were waiting outside of his door expecting the consequences of their actions to be delivered with a quick "Crucio!"

This led to several questions for Grindelwald. Were the two men working together? Was one of the mishaps a legitimate mistake? Could his double-agent be so skilled that he had pulled off a trick of some sort to make his mission appear successful? Could his double-agent be so cold-hearted that his mission really was successful? And most importantly, why had these flaws in his plan not occurred to him before?

He ordered both men away after holding them together under the Cruciatus Curse for almost a minute and briefly interrogating them. What he found did not provide any answers. Both men were certain that they had not mentioned their plans to anyone, even after he threatened them with prolonged torture. He did not have many options at the time: Veritaserum had not yet been developed, Pensieve memories are entirely unreliable, especially under duress, and all of his men were accomplished Occlumentes, which allowed them to protect their minds from invasion should they fall into Auror custody.

Grindelwald refused to believe that more than one of his men was spying on him. One was a lapse in judgement, two was a fatal error, and Grindelwald did not make fatal errors. None of the men had known each other before coming to work for him, so any association would have had to been developed under his watchful eye. It was practically impossible. He also realized that his spy had to have blood cooler than a vampire's running through his veins. He did not know why he did not see it before-- anyone working under him had seen death and destruction for over five years and had allowed a large percentage of it to be carried out. There was no way to assume that his target would rise to any bait he delivered because of the risk to others.

Plotting against such a creature would be extremely challenging, but Grindelwald knew spies. He was also familiar with double-crossers, having been one himself a time or two. And so, taking into account his own ideals, he came up with a plot that would not only deliver his traitor, but also the Ministry, into his waiting hands. Summoning his house-elf, he ordered the creature to prepare the necessary potions ingredients and to call a meeting with his men.

One week later, as usual, all met-- this time in Germany, in Grindelwald's private homes. He announced to his men how proud he was to have them serving him, and that in return he would grant them something from him. He shared with them one of the darkest rituals known to wizards, a ritual that would allow them to share the very ebb and flow of life itself. Grindelwald had long claimed that he had stretched the magic which gave purebloods long life into immortality itself. Yet, he cautioned, the ritual was not without risks. It would give him complete access to their minds, in return for their access to his very life force. All nodded eagerly, and he held back his anticipation as each slashed the stone knife over the top of his right hand. As they together chanted the words, Grindelwald waited for one to step forward, betraying himself. He was sure that his traitor would not risk the names of all the others who were working on the side of Light. Yet not one showed any fear of the ritual, and the chanting was completed without incident. Grindelwald retired to his rooms very tired and eager to investigate the minds of his men. If one of them thought that he could trick his Master, he was very much mistaken.

However, no information turned up, even upon repeat investigations. Grindelwald had to conclude that he had been mistaken in his original conclusion and that the previous mishaps had truly been errors. And so, he proceeded with the next part of his plan, even though it was not strictly necessary. But he had always wanted the Ministry buildings for his own, and he was going to have them.

His men were each given assignments and put into place. Several utilized their connections to get into secure areas, while others organized the ground forces that would storm the building. Grindelwald could tell that each man was performing his assigned task superbly and that it would not be long before he had succeeded."

Hermione paused to take a sip of water from the glass on her nightstand. "Of course, you all know what happens next. The Headmaster confronted Grindelwald in a battle of epic proportions inside of the Ministry, and Grindelwald stumbled off, drained of his energy. The Aurors tracked him back to his home using the tracking device that had been planted inside of the house-elf's collar, and they found him quite desiccated. It was never learned whether he had taken a potion himself or if he was killed at another's hands."

There was silence throughout the dormitory, until Lavender exclaimed, "But the spy? Who was the spy? Someone had to have placed that tracking device there."

Stuttering, Hermione answered, "Oh, yes. His identity was never known, even by his Ministry contacts."

Ginny looked confused. "But I thought you were going to tell us his name?"

"Er, no. I was going to say that his name was unknown. It's never been uncovered."

"But where did you find out about all of this? Is it really true?"

Hermione smiled. "It's in all of those history books you neglect to read. _Meum Castrum_, _The Dark Ages: A Complete Guide_, _Power and Prestige: Inside the Reign of Grindelwald_... It's all in the school library. Speaking of books, I really need to finish my reading before bed. If you all don't mind?"

Taking her hint, most of the girls left, talking amongst themselves. Parvati and Lavender eventually followed them down to the common room, and Hermione smiled after finally being left in peace.

Later that week, she arrived at the History section in the library to find two Slytherin girls arguing over who had reached for _Grindelwald's Gaffes_ first. She narrowly avoided Madame Pince sweeping by to break up the battle by snatching the book out of their hands and beginning her standard lecture. She smiled at the sight of a half-empty section and became even more pleased when she saw the many fingerprints scattered in the layer of dust that shrouded the shelves, although she knew that the librarian would not be happy. She was about to leave the section to find a less populated area of the library when she felt a strong grip on her shoulder and looked up into the twinkling eyes of Headmaster Dumbledore.

He smiled at her, patting her on the shoulder. "It certainly is good to see such interest in days gone by, isn't it, Miss Granger?"

Looking down at the faint scar on the top of his right hand, she replied, "Yes, sir, it certainly is."

The End


End file.
